Updates from City Council meeting on Bikes in Buildings Bill

Due to popular demand, here’s a quick rundown of yesterday’s transportation committee hearing in City Council on the Bikes in Buildings Bill. More details to follow.

* There was no vote. The general sense is that the bill needs some fine-tuning but enjoys majority support. (TA says 26 votes have been lined up.) There will be a second committee hearing, probably in January, at which a vote can be expected.
* Commissioner Sadik-Khan, Rohit Aggarwala from the mayor’s sustainability office, and City Planning officials testified in favor. So did Paul White of TA, Kyle Wiswall from TSTC, and Josh Nachowitz from NYLCV.
* A REBNY member and real estate broker testified in favor, as did the owner of a building on Grand Street and developers Two Trees Management and Jonathan Rose (the developers submitted written testimony).
* About 10 commuting cyclists also testified in favor.
* Testimony against the bill came from REBNY, the Building Owners and Managers Association, and a woman who wants to ban bicycles from the island of Manhattan.